National Women’s Council calls for accessible abortion care for all women

Published: Saturday, September 28, 2024

Marking International Safe Abortion Day today (28th September 2024), the National Women’s Council called for abortion to be accessible to anyone who needs it. NWC highlighted the urgent need to tackle ongoing barriers to abortion care for many women and pregnant people in Ireland.  

NWC welcomed the introduction of Safe Access Zones from October 17th and the expansion of abortion services, with 17 of 19 maternity hospitals now providing care. However, significant barriers to equitable access remain.  

These barriers include  

• ongoing criminalisation,  
• the mandatory three-day waiting period, 
• uneven geographical coverage,  
• and narrow, rigid legal criteria for accessing abortion after 12 weeks, including the 28-day clause for fatal foetal anomalies.  

These obstacles have resulted in women and pregnant people being denied timely reproductive healthcare and, in many cases, being forced to travel abroad. 

Kate Mitchell, NWC’s Head of Development and Policy, said:   

“Women and pregnant people need meaningful reforms now.  Although the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health has approved the findings of the O’Shea review on the operation of legislation regarding abortion services, the delay in implementing these crucial changes continues. 

The postcode lottery for services must end; the unnecessary waiting period and the arbitrary 12-week limit must be removed; and medical professionals must not face the threat of criminal charges if they provide abortion. The independent O’ Shea Review on abortion provides us with a significant opportunity, rooted in the lived experiences of women, pregnant people and service providers to tackle the legal and operational barriers to access.” 

Poushali Kundu, NWC’s Women’s Health Officer, said:  

“Six years after the repeal of the 8th Amendment, at least 1,117 women have travelled from Ireland to the UK for an abortion. Marginalised women—including those in Direct Provision, migrant women, Traveller and Roma women, disabled women, and victims-survivors of sexual violence—continue to be disproportionately affected by these ongoing restrictions.” 

Ahead of Budget 2025 next week, NWC also called for the continued roll out of the free contraception scheme to all age groups who need it. With the next general election on the horizon, there is an opportunity to place women’s reproductive healthcare firmly on the political agenda.  

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